So, it appears that this is my first Film Link Goodness of 2014. Errrr…sorry? I really thought I had done one of these already. I’ve read some great stuff around the web lately and felt that it was time to group some of it together to share with you all. Favourite directors, The Lego Movie, writing about film and more in my March 2014 Film Link Goodness after the jump.

“Everything is Awesome” has been stuck in my head since I saw The Lego Movie last weekend; but other than that song and Will Arnett’s awesome voice acting as Batman, the film was pretty forgettable for me. I was impressed with the animation and world building, but found the story quite lacking. Was it a film for kids or a film for adult Lego fans? It seemed an odd mesh of both. Ryan McNeil has written a very articulate review at The Matinee. Judging by the comments, Ryan and I are very much in the minority on this one.

Yesterday I caught Darren Aronofsky’s Noah at the cinema. It has rained and stormed much of the week in Sydney, so the mood was right for the biblical epic. I am still not sure what I think about the film, but it’s certainly Russell Crowe’s best performance for some time. I enjoyed reading this review from Simon Miraudo at Quickflix, and love his point about it being the most pro vegan film around! I agree that it certainly shouldn’t be dismissed on religious or non religious grounds.

Over at The Film Emporium, Andrew Buckle has posted an updated list of his 50 favourite directors. I like how Andrew has listed the film he admires from each director. He has got me thinking about my own list and wondering, who would be on there? I might have to work away on that one. While you’re on his site check out his Nymp()maniac [Parts I and II] review. I don’t think I can be bothered with the film and considering Andrew and I agree on most films, I’m going to heed his warning on this one.

I still have so much to learn about writing. I know that I make many mistakes and really need to work on my knowledge of filmmaking so that I can write more well-rounded and informed reviews. “Please critics, write about the filmmaking” by Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerElbert.com is timely reminder and an excellent piece about the importance of writing about filmmaking in a review. I love this:

Write about form. A little bit. Not all the time. Just whenever you see an opening; whenever you think it might make sense, and call attention to the fact that we don’t just mysteriously, magically feel things while we’re watching movies and TV shows: that the filmmaking is what made us feel those things.

Shame is probably my favourite film from the last 5 years. It’s a bit of an odd film to have has a favourite, but every time I watch it I find something new. The way a shot is framed, the look on a supporting character’s face, Fassbender’s body language – there is just so much to discover. I don’t think I have ever seen a film so technically brilliant, where the filmmaking doesn’t detract from the story itself. Alex Withrow has called Shame his favourite film made in the last decade! Thanks Alex, I feel better. At And So it Begins… Alex has posted ‘The Top 42 Things I Love About SHAME (that no one talks about)”. So Alex, let’s get together and just geek out about Shame sometime soon?

Continuing to talk about these problems with a low rate of females in the film industry is like that eight year old girl who begs her parents to let her have a pony but she lives on the 10th floor of an apartment building in the middle of a city. But she wants one just because that’s the thing you want when you’re an eight year old girl. If she were to have the pony, she’d have to go live on a farm, go back to the grassroots, and work hard to look after that pony. What we need to do is go back to the root of the problem and start again. Work hard to preserve what we want if we want it enough. Creating the opportunities instead of settling with the opportunities made available to us. Because that girl is never going to get a pony on that 10th floor. If she really wanted it, she’d have to create her own opportunities and work hard to preserve it.

I love your attitude Stevee! You go out there and make your opportunities, I can’t wait to see what you create.